The weather, the entity that determines or better yet outlines my life, is completely breathtaking these days. One awesome thing about farming veggies, herbs, and flowers is you are able to witness the changes in the season day to day. Each day there is a new surprise, and gift if you will. When one experiences a day like today, one feels totally exhuberant and high as a kite, naturally of course. So today, I opened all the windows in the house to let that autumn fragrance evelope each and every crevece found in this place called home. Letting your house breathe is so important to me. It changes the vitality of your dwelling, and since it is where you lay your head each night, it might be a good thing to consider throughout the developing seasons.
Okay, back to duties on the farm or the romance of it all. I'm going to stick with duties to keep this entry moving right along. So...today Mark, Amy, and myself cut 4 buckets of sunflowers, and then worked on seed starting and transplanting seedlings in the greenhouse. A couple of hours later Mark and Amy harvested squash, and collected the first, small, crop of gourds as well -yippee!!! I love gourds!
I spent the better part of the day cleaning up and organizing our "seed room". Yes, some people use spare bedrooms a guest room, study, playroom for kids, or an office, but we have a whole room devoted to our seed collection. We've been collecting seeds for a few years now. It's fun and we plan to continue this affair of the heart. Seeds are certainly the best gift you can give a girl like me. My parents think I'm a little bizarre around the holidays, since my only request is that seeds in all shapes and sizes be in my stocking or under the tree. :)
One thing that thrills me to no avail to watch the life cycle of a plant. You get to know the plant as a baby, and can spot it the most unusual of places with a trained eye. It's wonderful to recognize native plants that are coming back to grace our land after many years of being tilled or literally sprayed to death. Watching the progression of one of you favorite flowers come into bloom, or witnessing the development of a tomato ripening on the vine til its ready to be eaten is something everyone should witness at least once, hopefully hundreds, in their lifetime.
What else is new you might ask, well... our calendar for farm tours is quickly filling up! We have kindergarters all the way to high school students scheduled to tour the farm in the months of September and October! Even a local Master Gardner group will be hosting their monthly meeting here at the farm. Keith & I absolutely love sharing the farm!!!
If I could yell it I would so here goes... THE COUNTDOWN TO OCTOBERFEAST IS ON!!!
This next event held at our farm is going to be broadcasted on NATIONAL TELEVISION!!!
A television show called The Endless Feast will be hanging out at the farm the week of Octoberfeast! They will be filming yours truly and Keith in action on the farm, in addition to 3 of our favorite farmer friends! The Endless Feast crew will also highlight a regional restaurant that uses local food on their menu! The culmination of the episode will be Octoberfeast, so if you are looking for 15 minutes of fame make plans to attend our first harvest celebration on the farm!
The show will be broadcasted on PBS at a later date! We are so excited about this event so be sure to check our website for more details!
http://www.whittonfarms.com/ click on "Events."
To learn a little more about Endless Feast, go to endlessfeast.tv It's really a beautiful production and show!!!
Octoberfeast participating restaurants: Godsey' Grill, Nine Oaks, Meals Matter, The Majestic, The Mesquite Chop House, Interim, Chez Philippe, Ciao Bella, and we are waiting to hear back from 3 other chefs on confirmation!
Live music will be provided by Bow Legged Rooster! They performed at Feastival and were very, very, very well received! They have been playing gigs non-stop!
Activities: Hay Rides, Pumpkin Carving Contest, Cake Walk, Apple Bobbing, Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch, and at dusk a very nice and relaxing BONFIRE! Perfect for making smores!
We will have a fine art show in addition to several local artisans present to sell their creations. Might be a good place to do a little Christmas shopping. What better gift than something that is handmade right here in the Delta!
A few of you have asked about camping out the night of Octoberfeast, and volunteering at the farm the next morning. Bring it! Just send us an email if you're interested!
One last thing. In November there will a Farm to School Conference held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Joe Salatin of Polyface Farms will be there to speak and host a book signing. If you are not familiar with that name, then I highly recommend reading Omnivore's Dilemma. If you want any information about the conference let me know. It's basically to going to be a conference/opportunity to connect with regional school nutrition directors in order to get more locally grown, healthy foods in our public school cafeterias. Go local food movement, GO!!!
Well, I've got perennial seedlings calling for my attention. Hope ya'll have a great week! Jill
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